House Democrats face committee seat shuffle

House Democrats set for the committee seat shuffleJackson Lee, for one, could be up for powerful post

Published 6:30 am, Thursday, November 30, 2006

WASHINGTON — When the House returns to work next week, attention will be focused off the floor, where Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston and other lawmakers will wheel and deal for prized committee assignments.

With Democrats retaking control of the House in January — the seventh time the chamber has changed hands in 75 years — the process will be more chaotic than usual.

Democrats will gain a slew of committee slots, and many veterans will seek to trade up to better assignments. On the GOP side, lawmakers are seeking to manage, with minimal pain, their reduced numbers on the panels.

Seniority, leadership loyalty, regional balance, minority representation, protection of vulnerable members and old-fashioned horse-trading are all part of the mix as leaders decide who will serve on which committees. The assignments, as well as subcommittee chairmanships, will be made final when the 110th Congress convenes in January.

Committee chairmanships, which will be approved by the Democratic Caucus next week, are largely set.

She's already passed over the two most senior Democrats, Jane Harman and Alcee Hastings, and Silvestre Reyes of El Paso may emerge as the consensus candidate for the one chairmanship decided solely by the speaker.

Selecting subcommittee chairmen should be more straightforward, but the seniority-driven process is not without its own complexities.

Jackson Lee, for one, might not claim the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee's immigration subcommittee, where she's been the top Democrat for years. A more senior Democrat in the full House, former immigration lawyer Zoe Lofgren of California's Silicon Valley, may have her eye on that prize.

Jackson Lee has declined to discuss possible moves and did not return calls seeking comment Wednesday. Lofgren spokeswoman Kyra Jennings confirmed her boss was eyeing the immigration panel, which is sure to play a major role in the debate over the nation's immigration laws.

But Lofgren also has other options on the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees, some of which depend on what other senior Democrats do.

"It's such a moving-parts game with these decisions," Jennings said.

The immigration job may already be decided.

In a Nov. 16 appearance before a high-tech trade association, Pelosi announced that Lofgren would chair the immigration subcommittee — a move some dismissed as premature because the Judiciary members meet in January to decide their subcommittee leadership.

In any event, Jackson Lee may be contemplating a move of her own.

Congressional sources said she was interested in a seat on the powerful Rules Committee, the gatekeeper that determines how the House debates and votes on legislation and which amendments can be offered by Democrats and Republicans.

The coveted Rules assignment is "exclusive," meaning that, if tapped, Jackson Lee could serve only on that committee and would have to relinquish her Judiciary Committee post.